Mingary Castle (), also known as Mingarry Castle, is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

situated southeast of the small village of

Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Nestled on ridge of rock overlooking the sea, it was considered a strategically important site in terms of communication with overseas areas and as an entranceway to the Sound of Mull. Mingary is roughly

hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A regular hexagon is de ...

al in shape with nine-foot-thick

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s, thicker on the seaward side. The remains of the castle are protected as a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) *Category (V ...

History

Mingary Castle dates to either the thirteenth- or fourteenth century. It could have been originally constructed by either the MacDougalls or the MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan (also known as the MacIains of Ardnamurchan). King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

used it as a stronghold for fighting off

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...

in the late 15th century. In March 1499 he gave John McEan or McIain the lands of Ardnamurchan and "Castle Mengarie" after he had captured John of Islay,

Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...

. In 1515 the castle was besieged by the Clan MacDonald of Lochalsh and again two years later when they finally took the castle. In 1588 the chief of the MacLeans of Duart resided there after capturing the chief of the MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan. In 1588, one of the ships of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

, named the '' San Juan de Sicilia'', landed on Mull and MacLean of Duart used troops from the ship to aid him in his warring against the MacDonalds of Clanranald and the MacIans of Ardnamurchan. On one occasion, a force from the ship besieged to the castle for three days before withdrawing. Other occupants over the years included the

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

, the

Earls of Argyll Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most pow ...

(in 1612), and

Alasdair mac Colla Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill ( – 13 November 1647), also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the I ...

who took the castle from its

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

garrison in 1644. In 2006 a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television programme '' Wreck Detectives'' set out to uncover a shipwreck in the Sound of Mull, directly below the castle. The wreck was finally dated to 1644. In 2013 the site was designated as a Historic Marine Protected Area.

Renovation and Restoration

A recent survey showed that the main curtain wall on the sea side is in imminent danger of collapse. Work will shortly commence to stabilise the wall by underpinning it before proceeding to preserve and restore the castle, after important preliminary archaeological work has been completed. All work is being undertaken by the Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust, a registered charity in Scotland. Detailed commentary on progress and emerging insights from the largely untouched archeology will be provided. The draw bridge was put back in place, fitted by thistle marine and Don electrical services from Aberdeenshire Scotland.

References

External links

{{Marine Protected Areas in Scotland Ardnamurchan Ruined castles in Highland (council area) Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland 13th-century fortifications 13th century in Scotland 17th-century fortifications 17th century in Scotland Historic Marine Protected Areas of Scotland

History

Renovation and Restoration

See also

References

External links